It is well known that fishing has become an extremely popular sport especially for leisure but also as a profession. In either case the fisherman most often utilizes a fishing rod and reel of which tend to be most cumbersome and awkward to carry. Fishing further requires numerous accessories including a fishing box, a fish net, a fish caddy, etc. As a result, the fisherman must manually carry all of the necessary items while walking to the fishing spot. This can be quite frustrating and inconvenient as it is very difficult to carry all of these items simultaneously. Therefore, to reduce some of the burden it would be most helpful if the fisherman did not have to hand carry the fishing rod and reel as well as all of the other additional paraphernalia. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult for the fisherman to hold the rod and reel while attempting to manipulate the fishing line while attaching hooks, lures, bait, flies, etc. Thus, it would be most advantageous to provide a simple means for hands-free support of the rod and reel while walking, while fishing and/or more importantly while attaching items onto the fishing line.
It is apparent that this is an extremely common problem of which needs to be addressed, recognized and resolved in a simple manner. Heretofore there have been numerous attempts to devise an acceptable solution yet nowhere in the known prior art have they successfully achieved this goal. The following are some examples of the known prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,963 (Uso, Jr. et al.) discloses a fishing pole fastening device with an elasticized band for placing about a railing and a second band permanently attached crosswise to the elasticized band for fastening to a fishing pole. Both bands have a “Velcro” fastening mechanism so they can be formed into loops. While the device disclosed by Uso, Jr. et al. could be placed about a limb of a person, if it were placed on the arm or wrist of a fisherman, the free ends of the second band or the loop formed thereby could interfere with casting or get tangled with the fishing line, clothing or other equipment. Additionally, if one attempted to use the Uso, Jr. et al. device on the lower leg, it would be difficult to quickly and conveniently insert or simply drop the butt end of a fishing pole into the soft, flexible loop formed by the second band. The Uso, Jr. et al. pole capturing band is permanently attached to the elasticized band and the entire device must be detached from the railing to which it is attached to move it or a pole to another location.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,761,497 (Smith), U.S. Pat. No. 1,786,254 (Meehan), U.S. Pat. No. 2,846,129 (O'Brien) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,914 (Pothetes) disclose fishing rod holders of the type using rigid or semi-rigid jaws (Pothetes), spring-like clamps (O'Brien and Meehan) or clasps (Smith) to hold the butt or base portion of a fishing rod. The rod holding mechanisms of these devices cannot be separated easily from the base portion secured to the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,573 (Fruscella et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,466 (Webber), U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,018 (Ferrigno), U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,578 (Morse), U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,482 (Scharsu) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,932 (Gross) disclose holster type fishing rod holders designed to be secured to the belt of a fisherman. These devices are somewhat similar simply because they are attachable to a pre-existing waist belt but they are much too complicated and incorporate numerous parts such as bolts, nuts, springs, clamps, straps, etc. all of which the present invention eliminates.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,198,202 issued Sep. 12, 1916 discloses a fishing device to be worn by a fisherman so as to allow him to have his hands free. This is a multi-component rather complicated device which includes a harness worn by the fisherman together with a belt and an attached socket for holding the rod. Additionally, the rod must be supported by a chain attached to the harness. Because of all of the equipment involved, the apparatus is awkward and presents many protruding elements which are likely to hook the clothing, hands or arms of the fisherman.
Still further U.S. Pat. No. 1,174,319 discloses a fishing rod holder which comprises a belt and a metal body portion with a protruding rod holder which is also made of metal and which is adjustable in a vertical position relative to a ratchet which is a part of the mechanism. Again, this is complicated, and expensive relative to the materials to be used in making the device. Further, the rod holder always remains in the protruding position and presents a problem relative to snagging of clothing, hands and/or arms.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 1,786,254 issued Dec. 23, 1930 discloses a fishing rod holder attachable to the body of a person which includes a metal frame with an upstanding portion for accepting the butt end of the rod and two biased rollers through which the rod may be pressed downwardly. The rollers are biased by means of metal springs attached to the base plate. Again, this is a complicated arrangement and expensive relative to the materials used and the construction of the device, and also is in a protruding position.
With reference to the forgoing examples of prior art, it is clearly evident that numerous rod holders and holsters have been proposed for purposes of freeing the hands of the fisherman. Some supports also have been proposed to free the hands of the fisherman even while fishing. However, the various proposed supports have certain limitations relative to their usefulness both for baiting the hook, removing the fish and/or simply while walking. More importantly all of the known prior art supports have very complicated mechanisms, include costly materials and are simply not economical to construct Additionally, all of such holders known that are worn by the fisherman include elements which project outwardly and, therefore, are likely to catch the clothes of the wearer and/or scratch their arms and hands. Still further, every known prior art support is specifically designed for use with either a spin casting reel, a bait casting reel or spinning reel. None of the prior art references are functional for use with a fly fishing reel which is most important.
Namely, there are four types of fishing reels respectively. Each type of fishing reel is constructed differently and is functional for different types of fishing. For example, the spin-casting reel is a hybrid of sorts, sharing some elements of the spinning reel and some of the bait-casting reel. The spin-casting reel has a fixed spool that is attached parallel to your fishing rod and is capped off with a cone-shaped device through which your line runs. In this configuration the spin-casting reel is on the top of the rod. The thumb controls the release trigger and the crank is on the right side of the reel.
The spinning reel has a lot of the same advantages as the spin-casting reel. Like the spin-casting reel, the spinning reel relies on a fixed spool, but it is different in that the front of the reel is open. In this configuration the reel is mounted under the rod and the crank is on the left side. Many spinning reels have anti-reverse switches to ensure the handle doesn't turn when you don't want it to. To cast the reel, release this switch, pinch off the line slightly with your index finger, open the bail, and cast out, letting go of the line when your cast is pointing at the target.
The bait-casting reels look fairly primitive and winch-like. Bait-casting reels use a free spool rather than a fixed spool, which means that the crank mechanism can be disengaged from the cylinder when the line is cast, leaving the cylinder to spin with little drag. Affixed to the top of a rod, the bait-casting rod has its crank handle on the right side. Before casting the bait-casting reel you must set its free-spool button. When setting up your reel it is necessary to adjust the tension knob, but once you have your reel set up to a particular lure you need not do so again.
The fly-casting reel relies on an entirely different concept of casting than the other types of reels. Rather than casting out using the weight of the lure and sinker, the fly-casting reel uses lightweight lures made of small bits of feather and fur tied together and doesn't pull the line along after it. What this means is that the reel is designed to accommodate relatively thick and heavy line. There are very few mechanical parts to a fly-casting reel, since you want as little drag as possible on the line. The fly-casting reel is mounted below the rod on a foot and the crank handle is on the right. This type of reel does have a line guide and sometimes a drag adjuster, but it is basically a cylinder with a crank mechanism.
When considering the different types of fishing reels, it is to be understood that none of the prior art references are functional with the fly fishing reel. Due to their construction they are only functional for use with the standard casing reels. Such reels are slimmer and/or smaller and also have the handle and actuation mechanisms positioned differently than the fly fishing reel. The present invention is most functional with the fly fishing reel due to the construction, shape and size of the cradle which supports the rod and reel. The construction thereof is unique and novel as will be seen within the following specification and drawings.